The present invention relates to hot-fillable containers, and more particularly, the present invention relates to hot-fillable wide-mouth jars having collapse panels with integral grips.
In the early 1990s, Graham Packaging Company pioneered the development of a hot-fillable container that incorporated opposed collapse panels having grip regions that both accommodated the requisite vacuum absorption requirements of hot-fill processing and afforded facile handling of the container by the consumer. The commercialized container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,392,937; 5,598,941; and D.344,457. It is particularly suited for containing liquids, such as juices.
In recent years, Graham pioneered the development of hot-fill wide-mouth jars particularly suited for containing viscous food products, such as sauces. The hot-filling of such products has presented new challenges to designers due to the higher fill temperatures and greater product densities encountered. An example of one of Graham""s patented hot-fill wide mouth jars is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,739. This patented jar has a generally cylindrical body with a plurality of peripheral collapse panels that accommodate the requisite vacuum absorption and volumetric shrinkage in hot-fill processing. A variation of this jar having grips is disclosed in Graham""s co-pending application Ser. No. 09/466,698, filed on Dec. 17, 1999 and titled xe2x80x9cHot-Fillable Grip Containerxe2x80x9d. While the above jars have functioned satisfactorily for their intended purposes, there is a need for a wide-mouth, hot-fill jar that can be manufactured efficiently in various capacities.
With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel wide-mouth grip jar for hot-fill applications that is an improvement over the aforementioned patented jars.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved wide-mouth grip jar for hot fill applications that provides enhanced vacuum absorption capabilities with a minimum of structural elements such as ribs, grooves and the like which detract from production efficiency, as well as the appearance of the container.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a wide mouth grip jar for hot-fill applications that functions well under hot-fill processing conditions for viscous food products, such as sauces.
More specifically, the present invention provides a wide mouth grip jar for hot-fill applications that comprises a dome, a base, and a sidewall extending between the dome and the base. The sidewall has diametrically opposed front and rear label panels and opposed collapse panels disposed between the label panels. Each collapse panel has an inset grip region that affords facile gripping of the container by the consumer.
Each of the label panels has a predetermined transverse radius of curvature throughout its arcuate extent, and each of the collapse panels has, throughout its arcuate extent, a predetermined radius of curvature which is larger than the radius of curvature of each label panel. The upper and lower vertical extremities of the collapse panel extend along structural stiffeners, such as a groove below the dome and a label bumper above the base. Each of the collapse panels is bordered by vertical transitional zones located at the juncture of each collapse panel with the front and rear label panels. Preferably, the front label panel is provided with a series of horizontally extending grooves and lands. The overall container is characterized by a minimum of structural elements that improve the container""s appearance. Certain structural relations desirable to achieve these functions are disclosed.